Defining the Legislative Council in the Hong Kong SAR: A 30-Second Guide.
Hong Kong's LegCo operates as a law-making body with the mandate to enact and revise legislation for the city. However, electoral processes for this body have seen a sharp reduction in substantive competing voices against a backdrop of major political overhauls in the past few years.
After the 1997 handover, a framework of a dual-system arrangement was put in place, vowing that Hong Kong would keep a degree of independence. Gradually, critics contend that civil liberties have been systematically curtailed.
Major Developments and Shifts
Back in 2014, a bill was tabled that would have allow residents to choose the city's leader. Critically, any such election was restricted to contenders pre-approved by central authorities.
The year 2019 saw months of protests, which featured an event where demonstrators entered the legislative complex to express anger against a contentious law.
The Impact of the Security Legislation
Enacted in June 2020, the National Security Law provided new legal tools to Beijing over Hong Kong's internal matters. Acts such as collusion were made illegal. After this law, every major political group dissolved.
The Current Election System
The council polls are regarded as Hong Kong's main electoral process. However, regulations established in recent years now guarantee that only candidates deemed loyal are permitted to stand for election.
- Seat Composition: At present, only 20 out of 90 seats are directly elected.
- Other Positions: The rest are selected by a special interest groups.
- New Rules: Additionally drafted rules would require legislators to publicly support Beijing's jurisdiction.
Public Response
With other means of expression now criminalized, voter abstention has emerged as one of the limited legal ways for residents to show disapproval. Consequently historically low electoral engagement in subsequent LegCo contests.
